Although some gossip bloggers went back and forth about the status of Jessica Zajicek’s job as Kathy Griffin’s assistant, Jessica herself is confirming that she has definitely quit and will not be back either in Kathy’s employ or on My Life on the D List. That leaves former backup Tiffany Rinehart [in the picture, holding Kathy's Emmy) as the new #1 assistant - but will she get an assistant of her own to fill the vacant slot, or not? [Side note: there's something about a second assistant becoming the first assistant that makes me want to imitate a Miss America pageant host.] A press release for the upcoming fifth season of My Life on the D List reads:
Returning to the new season are Kathy’s ‘peeps’ assistant Tiffany Rinehart, tour manager Tom Vize, her beloved mom Maggie and her unruly dogs Chance and Pom Pom.
Um, I totally don’t get the Peeps reference. Can anyone out there with a better memory than me tell me what episode/reference it comes from?
Also, will Tiffany take over the Team Griffin blog that Jessica used to write? Right now if you go to the old TG link, you get an error message saying the page doesn’t exist anymore.
I love a good workplace novel, and I’m happy to report that I found a great one recently: E, by Matt Beaumont. It follows in the proud tradition of epistolary novels – but instead of letters, this one’s entirely in email. More specifically, the novel tells the story of a crazy, eclectic, and sometimes coked-up London ad agency trying to win their biggest client ever. I was worried that the email concept would be a gimmick, but it totally worked because Beaumont does a great job using minimal language to effectively capture different personalities for all the characters in the office. Almost all the office cliches are there – the frenemies, the executive who goes through assistants like Kleenex, the coworker hookup, the assistant who is so blindly loyal to her boss you wonder if she’s in love with him, and the like. Plus, I really love British slang. Anyway, the book is absolutely worth a read – I was reading it on the plane, and was actually disappointed when the plane landed. If that’s not an endorsement, I don’t know what is.
I don’t know Robyn Gibson, but I am on her side. The woman who spent 28 years putting up with the growing nuttiness (or maybe he was nutty to begin with but had a better publicist?) that is Mel Gibson is now filing for divorce. The couple has 7 kids and are devout Roman Catholics – which ought to make this whole divorce situation a little bit tricky.
Robyn was with Mel through all the high points of his career, but they got together before he was anything close to famous. Robyn was a 24 year old dental assistant when she and Mel got married in Australia. There have been rumors about him cheating on her for years, and photos recently surfaced of him “canoodling” (dear tabloids: I hate that word) with another woman. Of course, Mel and Robyn didn’t have a prenup, so of course, Robyn is going to totally clean him out. And I say good for her! Starting out as an assistant, raising seven kids while your husband was off jaunting around the world being a giant movie star, dealing with the fallout from that embarrassing arrest, plus enduring his philandering? I say give the woman what she deserves. Congratulations, Robyn, after you get your $400 million or so settlement, you may in fact be the most successful STA former assistant done good ever!
Here’s why I live in New York and not Dubai: NYC responds to high numbers of layoffs with an Unemployment Olympics; Dubai responds to the same issue by organizing a physical fitness boot camp. One involves running around a park in the East Village playing games, one involves being awake and active at 10 AM. No-brainer.
Inspiration came to the 26-year-old Alex Light when he lost his job. But the voice in the back of his head did not tell him to create a masterpiece of modern art or a seminal album, but to try to help others in his predicament. He is the man behind Bad Times Boot Camp, which takes place at Dubai’s Jumeirah Beach at 10.00am three times a week. It is free to anyone who wants to get fit, but as the operating hours suggest, it is aimed at the unemployed.
I know exercise is supposed to boost your serotonin and make you happy or whatever, but the way this Alex Light person talks he sounds like an aspiring Tony Robbins who convinces you that your unemployed state is the result of your own physical and mental weaknesses, not the result of, say, your company losing money. I’m glad he found a positive way to improve his outlook, but his message is a bit preachy for me. That said, aspiring assistants in Dubai should not lose hope. Take heart in the story of one young assistant named Brie:
Brie Lakeman, a 26-year-old personal assistant, left her native Australia last month to look for work in Dubai. “It appears that I’m OK,” she says. “There seems to be a plethora of personal assistant jobs out here. There are not as many as there used to be, but quite a few and they are still hiring.” She also plans to pass on contacts to her boot camp alumni after securing work.
You hear that, everyone? Pack your bags and get to the UAE! I’d come, but I have some really important couch-sitting to do later.
Being unemployed has many upsides – free money from the government, sleeping late, People’s Court reruns – but it has major downsides as well. When you’re broke and hitting a brick wall with your job search, the last thing you want to do is rehash all the humiliation. However, you are most likely not an island. Your friends love you. So here’s a guide for talking to them about your unemployment:
If someone offers to help, let them. Your friends are your friends because they like you. And when someone says they want to help, they usually mean it. However, they may have no idea how to help. So if there’s something specific they can do – proofreading your resume, giving you some contact info for that job recruiter they worked with last summer, just being there when you need to vent – say what it is, and let them do it.
Be straightforward about your finances. If you’re too broke to keep going out to fancy restaurants, you need to be upfront about it. Don’t sound like you’re blaming your friend, though – instead of simply declining invites or waiting until the bill comes to fight over whose half comes out to more, maybe suggest cheaper alternatives or recommend another activity that you would both enjoy but costs less, such as a free day at a museum or cooking dinner at your place while you watch American Idol.
While this site exists to champion assistants, sometimes I have to admit that an assistant is in the wrong. Spanish-language TV host Maria Celeste Arraras has a new inspiration/self help-y memoir called Make Your Life Prime Time: How to Have It All Without Losing Your Soul, and in it she talks about the lessons she learned from some of the high and low points in her life. One of the low points? Having her identity stolen by her personal assistant. Maria talks briefly about the betrayal by her former assistant in this book trailer, but I imagine she’s saving all the good stuff for the book.
Alec Baldwin, whom I’m probably required to love forever for his portrayal of head honcho Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock, has not had a serious longterm relationship since the end of his infamous marriage to Kim Basinger. That said, he’s rarely without a beautiful woman on his arm, and this time the woman is a pretty darn surprising one. Last week, Baldwin arrived at the premiere of his new movie Lymelife with Johanna Cox. If that name rings a bell, Joanna’s claim to fame is winning the Elle magazine reality show Stylista. She apparently works as a junior editor at the magazine, which was her prize from the show. She’s 29, and he’s 51. I don’t know if it was just a date or if it’s the beginning of something major, but my brain might have just exploded from the amount of assistant/boss stuff going on in this post.
Porn star Penny Flame has just been announced as one of the cast members of the next season of VH1’s Celebrity Rehab, which will be about sex addiction. She may or may not be an addict, but she is definitely not lazy. On her blog, she details a day in the life at her job as the studio manager for a porn company called MetroBabes. It turns out that stuff that helps you be the best porn star you can be isn’t always helpful at the office. Here are a couple of tips for porn performers who just got day jobs:
While super high platform shoes look great on your feet when you’re having sex on camera, you can’t actually walk to work in them without breaking an ankle. Time to invest in some cool-but-practical work kicks.
If you have ever done any movies that took places in offices, hope you kept your wardrobe. Whatever’s not tear-away is now your work attire.
Office chairs, even the fancy ones, are not that great for you to sit in for long stretches. Penny recommends sitting on a yoga ball, which will help you to have good posture. [Note: a massage therapist friend of mine gave me this exact advice last week.]
The only thing shittier than getting laid off would have to be getting laid off in public. So, of course, now you have a chance to do exactly that.
A new reality show called Someone’s Gotta Go is currently in production. The show (which will air, obviously, on Fox) “enters real businesses across the country and gives employees the power to decide which one of them will be terminated.” Here’s more on the show from Variety:
Each episode will revolve around a different small business — usually one with 15-20 employees — that has been forced to make staff reductions because of the sour economy.
The company’s books will be opened up to the employees, who will learn what everyone makes and what’s in their human resources files. Employees will also get a chance to say, face to face, what they really think of one another.
Ultimately, the employees will vote on who should be terminated. That person will likely receive a small severance, but that’s it.
Talk about a great opportunity for a layoff narrative, huh? And who the hell are they going to get to host this thing?
Although some gossip bloggers went back and forth about the status of Jessica Zajicek’s job as Kathy Griffin’s assistant, Jessica herself is confirming that she has definitely quit and will not be back either in Kathy’s employ or on My Life on the D List. That leaves former backup Tiffany Rinehart [in the picture, holding Kathy's Emmy) as the new #1 assistant - but will she get an assistant of her own to fill the vacant slot, or not? [Side note: there's something about a second assistant becoming the first assistant that makes me want to imitate a Miss America pageant host.] A press release for the upcoming fifth season of My Life on the D List reads:
I love a good workplace novel, and I’m happy to report that I found a great one recently: 
I don’t know Robyn Gibson, but I am on her side. The woman who spent 28 years putting up with the growing nuttiness (or maybe he was nutty to begin with but had a better publicist?) that is Mel Gibson 
Here’s why I live in New York and not Dubai: NYC responds to high numbers of layoffs with an 
Being unemployed has many upsides – free money from the government, sleeping late, People’s Court reruns – but it has major downsides as well. When you’re broke and hitting a brick wall with your job search, the last thing you want to do is rehash all the humiliation. However, you are most likely not an island. Your friends love you. So here’s a guide for talking to them about your unemployment:
Alec Baldwin, whom I’m probably required to love forever for his portrayal of head honcho Jack Donaghy on 
The only thing shittier than getting laid off would have to be getting laid off in public. So, of course, now you have a chance to do exactly that.
